Most of the time when I hit the road for Network World it’s to attend conferences about enterprise network technology. But in October I went to an event – the Online News Association conference in Atlanta -- targeting me as a journalist. One message from the show is that editors and reporters should be looking beyond journalism tools for cool things to use. So I figure something similar is true for IT Pros: You might get something out of trying these tools that journalists are employing – most of which I’ve test driven. Thanks to Columbia University’s Jeremy Caplan, Webbmedia Group’s Amy Webb, Technical.ly’s Christopher Wink and Association of Alternative Newsmedia’s Tiffany Shackleford for sharing their tips.

MindMeld

This creation from Expect Labs, coming soon to Android and other platforms, basically listens to you as you do an interview, bringing up useful information on the screen to provide background and that might help you to ask additional questions.

Taptaptap’s Camera+

This $1.99 iPhone/$4.99 iPad app upgrades your camera, allowing you to fix lighting after the fact, zoom by 6x and more.

JOBY’s GorillaCam for iPhone and iPod touch

Nik Software’s Snapseed

This free app for Apple and Android devices lets you edit pictures using your fingers/gestures. Some aren’t thrilled with Google’s jettisoning of a desktop version of the product after it acquired Nik.

Microsoft Photosynth

This free app from Microsoft’s Live Labs has now been around for several years and is available on Windows Phones as well as Apple mobile devices. It allows panoramic and “synth” shots that cobble together images from different sides of photography subjects.

Lightt

This free iPhone app makes it easy to stitch together video clips into “movies.” Can make in an-app purchase to create longer videos.

Cinemagram

This free Apple and Android app lets you create gifs from your photos and videos.

ComicLife

This is a $5 iOS app from Plasq that lets you comic-ize your images and text to tell stories in a different way. It’s also available for PCs and tablets.

Phoster

Wordfoto

SoundCloud

This free Apple and Android app, which Columbia’s Jeremy Caplan terms the Youtube of audio, can be used for posting and discovering audio.

Bambuser

A free mobile app for creating live video streams can be used by individuals to share videos with friends and for charitable groups. A premium subscription service is required for commercial users.

Audioboo

This free app is available for iOS, Android, Windows and BlackBerry devices, and lets you record and share audio matched up with a photo, in segments up to 3 minutes long.

Qik

This free app for many phones and desktops lets you record video and share it live or later, plus conduct live video chats. Premium services are available to swap video mail and gain other services. Qik has been acquired by Skype.

Heard

This free iOS app from Faalsa Labs can run in the background and lets you call back audio from 12 seconds ago for free or from 5 minutes ago if you pay for the premium edition. Not all the reviews of this app, which some say can be intrusive, are kind.

Donna

This new and free personal assistant iOS app, whose name comes from the Donna Moss super assistant character on the TV show West Wing, exploits your mobile device calendar to help you navigate your busy days. It can synch up your calendar with maps to give you directions, let people you are meeting know you are late and a lot more. This is a vibrant app market, with Tempo, Que (bought by Apple) and Osito being others of this ilk.

Infogr.am

Infogr.am is a free desktop infographics and interaction chart creation tool that also comes in a premium edition. If you need more help in creating infographics and charts, sites like Visual.ly are an option.